Instrument Lesson

I've been attempting to have an instrument lesson for quite a while. Weather, airplane availability, and other issues kept getting in the way. Today I finally had the lesson on a hot sunny day. Here's what I remember:

Takeoff from KFME, under the hood almost immediately. Direct to KCGE, navigating via GPS. Lots of turbulence made it difficult to hold altitude and heading. Instructor set up GPS and worked the radio.

Activated GPS approach for KCGE runway 34. Flew over at 3000, turned outbound, descending to 1850, procedure turn course reversal (that I flew badly), inbound descending to 500, quick look out from under the foggles to show me that I could have executed a normal landing, and we went missed. Climbed to 1600, right hand turns, one circuit around the hold, and then we proceeded to RIKME at 2000.

Crossed RIKME at 2000, turned outbound on the hold, inbound leg proceded on the ILS approach for runway 4 at KESN. I got established on the localizer and mostly held it, captured the glideslope and mostly held it, and at 600 feet I took the foggles off and executed the circle to land procedure, turning to the right, staying at or below 600, flying over the approach end of runway 15, right traffic to land on 22, which was the active runway.

Touch and go, west bound turn, back under the hood, climbed to 3000, direct to KFME. Instructor gave vectors to downwind, brought it in for an ugly landing with a lot of crosswind and drift and float.

So two landings, nearly 2 hours under the hood. I feld like I was chasing the needles all day and I must have been making lots of S-turns. Instructor said I did well for a first lesson, but he's always positive and supportive.

I think I'll wait a month or so, do some simulator practice, and try again with another lesson.